The Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station (Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins) (EEJI)
occupies portions of the municipalities Peruíbe, Itariri, Miracatu and Iguape in the
valley of the Ribeira de Iguape River, 210 km south-west of the city São Paulo. The EEJI
has roughly the shape of an inverted triangle 90 km wide and 45 km from north to south (Map 53). It is crossed by the Una do Prelado River, a black-water
river that winds north-eastward more or less parallel to the Atlantic coast for 80 km,
isolating the Serra da Juréia. To the north-east the region is delimited by the Paranapu
massif, a buttress of the Serra dos Itatins.

The Serra da Juréia (which means prominent point in Tupi-Guaraní) is an inselberg
connected to the rest of the mainland by a plain of alluvial sands, which formed during a
post-glacial submersion by the sea. This is known as the Cananéia Transgression, which
took place some 5100 years ago when the sea was c. 3 m above its present level (Por and
Imperatriz-Fonseca 1984). For long periods the Una do Prelado River and its principal
tributary the Cacunduva River were for much of their length turned into saltwater gulfs,
which cut off the Serra da Juréia from the mainland. Evidence of this insular past
includes the occurrence of "sambaquis" deposits of shells and other debris left
by prehistoric indigenous populations c. 30 km inland from the estuary of the Una. The
isolation brought about by the Cananéia Transgression and the fact that the forests on
the flanks and top of this massif are even now separated from the body of the Atlantic
forest by the alluvial plains, may be interpreted as conditions suitable for speciation.

The Serra da Juréia is a Precambrian horst. The Juréia massif covers an area of 58
km² and reaches elevations of 400-800 m. It is divided by a depression occupied by the
Verde River, whose clear water and steep southern course are fed by the waterfalls of
Juréia. The eastern face of the massif falls abruptly to the ocean, forming a steeply
sloping coastline. The Una do Prelado River rises in the region of Banhado Grande
south-west of the Serra da Juréia and is formed almost exclusively by rainwater; it is
nutrient poor though rich in humic substances, with a pH of 3.7 (Por 1986; Por et al.
1984). The Una runs over a low plain (up to 4 m above sea-level) and is influenced by the
tides over almost its entire course. In times of drought, seawater penetrates as far as 30
km into the estuary. The salinity of the waters of the Una and Cacunduva rivers is
regulated entirely by rainfall and tides. Mangrove swamps extend as far as c. 5 km inland
from the estuary.

The watercourses that arise on the Serra da Juréia contain clear nutrient-poor water
with a pH of 5-6.5. There are springs in the natural campo, but most of the streams are
intermittent and come from rainfall. During periods of intense rain, small waterfalls may
turn into large cataracts. The hydrological wealth of the region results from two
principal factors lithology and climate.

The Ribeira lowland (Baixada do Ribeira) is characterized by average annual
temperatures of c. 21°-22°C and the higher elevations with c. 17°-18°C. Relative
humidity is above 80% and the average annual rainfall is c. 2200 mm (Camargo, Pinto and
Troppmair 1972). High rainfall is due to the influence of two air masses: the Tropical
Atlantic Mass originates in the South Atlantic and is active throughout the year, directly
influencing the distribution and quantity of rainfall; the Polar Atlantic Mass arises in
Patagonia and is more limited in its effect but still of great importance, causing abrupt
drops in temperature that may cause frost at the higher elevations (Tôha 1985).

On the tops of the mountains the climate has favoured the formation of soils, which
have an average depth of 2-3 m. On the slopes, which may be as steep as 35°, the soils
are shallower and in the absence of vegetation are soon eroded. In the lowlands between
the mountains lie the alluvial soils that result from recent sedimentation. The nature of
the mountain soils hinders the infiltration of water to deeper layers; thus the water
table does not lie deep, and water surfaces as a large number of springs and watercourses.

The vegetation of the region varies according to altitude and soil. There are five main
types: open campo, forest, scrub, herbaceous restinga vegetation, and mangrove (Eiten
1970).

The open "campo" vegetation, which covers the tops of the
mountains at elevations over 300 m, is grass-herb-subshrub fields with scattered low to
medium-tall xeromorphic shrubs.

The forest formation includes a series of evergreen tropical forest
types covering the slopes and base of the mountains (Coutinho 1962). The three most
important types are: (1) a moist tall forest on the seaward slope of the
Serra do Mar; (2) littoral tall forest, a low-altitude forest on alluvial
and lacustrine clays (and occasionally sands) of the inner part of the littoral plain; and
(3) restinga forest, a low to medium-tall forest, with a composition very
different from the slopes of the Serra do Mar.

The mangrove vegetation is an evergreen low forest, or low to tall and
closed scrub, of Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia schaueriana, Laguncularia
racemosa and Hibiscus pernambucensis, usually with distinct boundaries between
it and the restinga forest.

The flora of Brazil's Atlantic Coast forest is incompletely known, with new species and
even new genera being discovered. Random samples of the moist forest indicate significant
endemism, which has been estimated as 53.5% among tree species (Mori et al. 1983)
and 37.5% in non-arborescent families - or 74.4% including Bromeliaceae. Endemism of palms
is a rather high 64%, with 49 species endemic to the Atlantic coastal forests; 11 are
considered threatened. Endemism for bamboo genera has been estimated at 40.9%; the region
has been a refuge for various primitive species of bambusoid grasses and some woody groups
(Soderstrom and Calderón 1974). The isolation of the Atlantic forest from Amazonia took
place in the late Tertiary, which explains why this region has many plant species in
common with the Amazon, but also many endemics.

A Flora of the Serra da Juréia is in preparation. Preliminary results on the slope
forest indicate the presence of 76 families of dicotyledons, 21 of monocotyledons and 14
of ferns and fern allies; c. 500-600 species are estimated for the region. The canopy
varies in height from 20-30 m, with emergents reaching 35 m. The families most numerous in
tree species are Myrtaceae (18 spp.), Leguminosae (16), Melastomataceae (10) and
Annonaceae (9). The shrub layer varies in height from 2 m to 5 m, and is distinguished by
many species of Rubiaceae (15), Acanthaceae (9), Piperaceae (5), Rutaceae (5) and
Myrtaceae (5). The tree and shrub layers also contain a wide diversity of lianas, creepers
and epiphytes. Among the epiphytes, most of the species are in Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae,
Araceae and Gesneriaceae or ferns, whereas most lianas and vines are in Compositae,
Malpighiaceae and Bignoniaceae.

Results of a three-year inventory programme confirm the wealth of the flora and a
number of facts point to the importance of its conservation: the occurrence of rare
species (known from few specimens), such as Passiflora watsoniana and Piper
bowei; the occurrence of species with disjunct distributions, such as Loreya
spruceana (Melastomataceae), known from the Amazon region; a large number of
saprophytes of the families Orchidaceae, Burmanniaceae, Gentianaceae, and Triuridaceae (so
uncommon in herbarium collections); and the discovery of new species - Anthurium
jureianum (Araceae) and others not yet described in Sinningia (Gesneriaceae), Merostachys
(Poaceae - Bambusoideae), Sorocea (Moraceae) and Barbacenia (Velloziaceae).

Most of the inhabitants in the region ("caiçaras") have a rich pharmacopoeia
based mostly on medicinal plants. Species used include Psidium guajava
("goiaba"), P. cattleianum and Solanum inaequale
("quina-branca") for diarrhoea; Renealmia petasites ("capitiu")
for malaria; Rheedia pachiptera ("bálsamo") and Struthanthus spp.
("enxertinho") for external wounds; Aphelandra ornata
("erva-de-lagarto") for snake bite; and Casearia sylvestris
("erva-de-macaco") and Bactris sp. ("tucum-branco") for bruises
(Born, Diniz and Rossi 1989). Studies begun during the last four years will certainly
reveal more species with medicinal properties.

Despite its status as an Ecological Station, Juréia is inhabited by 365 families of
caiçaras, the descendants of an old Amerindian-European mixture, who are grouped in 22
villages or live in widely isolated huts along the beaches and rivers (Por and
Imperatriz-Fonseca 1984). There is just one small fishing community, at the mouth of the
Una do Prelado River. The government of São Paulo State has a plan for management of the
station, to make possible the maintenance of the communities with minimal disturbance to
the environment, and intends to eradicate almost all banana plantations and insure forest
regeneration.

Geographical isolation has helped to allow persistence of sites of historical interest,
such as the Caminho do Imperador (Imperial Highway), which was opened in 1545 at the
behest of the Governor General of the province to link the townships of Cananéia and
Iguape with São Vicente. The road is still used by local people, mostly for religious
pilgrimages.

The region has been used for ecological tourism on account of its scenic beauty and the
presence of several threatened species of animals and plants. Routine tourism occurs at
only a few sites such as Cachoeira do Paraíso, yet brings a considerable number of people
to the region each year.

The Serra da Juréia is particularly useful for research on speciation because of its
natural isolation from the rest of the Atlantic forest.

In the long run, the greatest economic value of the Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station
may be the preservation of a good sample of Atlantic forest biodiversity, allowing for
studies and sustainable exploitation of indigenous species in the future. Other uses
include the academic training of scientists and environmental education through ecological
tourism.

The forest has undergone relatively few disturbances, mainly from agriculture (banana
plantations) developed in the lowlands more intensively in the past, before establishment
of the Ecological Station. Despite its isolation, hunting and logging do occur. Nowadays
the area is threatened mostly by palm-heart gatherers.

The natural conservation of the region can be explained by its isolation. The mountains
of the Juréia-Itatins massif make access to c. 40 km of restinga impossible by road. The
area has thus been preserved over the years.

On 8 April 1958, State Decree No. 31,650 created Serra dos Itatins Reserva Florestal
Estadual (State Forest Reserve). On 28 January 1963, SD No. 41,538 turned the area of the
Serra dos Itatins over to the Guaraní Amerindians. In 1979 the Secretaria Especial do
Meio Ambiente (an agency of the federal government) was granted an area in the Juréia
massif, where a Biological Reserve was created. In 1980 the president signed a decree
whereby 236 km² of Juréia were disappropriated and could not be used for construction of
two nuclear power plants (Iguape I and II); in 1985 the idea of constructing the power
plants and the area were abandoned by the federal government. On 20 January 1986, the
state government of São Paulo created the Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station by SD No.
24,646. On 28 April 1987, the government approved Law No. 5649, whereby the EEJI actual
area of 792 km² was defined (indigenous and other lands were excluded).

The region is now an official ecological sanctuary. Juréia provides protection for
example for timber species and palmito palm, and dozens of rare and threatened mammal and
bird species, including spider monkey, jaguar, otter, capybara and tinamou.